Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2011/ii/paper-4/30a/i/solution

For , both and its weak gradient are square integrable. The assumed bounds give , so the potential term is integrable and is finite. Also
which is bounded below and coercive in by the Poincaré inequality.
For distinct and , convexity of and expansion of the squared gradient give
The last norm is nonzero: a zero weak gradient makes constant, and its zero trace forces that constant to vanish. Thus is strictly convex.
Weak lower semicontinuity means that in implies . A minimizing sequence is bounded by coercivity. Reflexivity of this Hilbert space gives a weakly convergent subsequence with limit still in . The assumed weak lower semicontinuity makes that limit a minimizer, and strict convexity makes it unique. Hence .

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